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February 28, 2013

Fourth Quarter Results for 2012 Are in for Groupon

By Joe Rizzo, TMCnet Contributing Writer

Groupon, Inc. is a company that was launched in 2008. It was first seen in Chicago and quickly moved on to Boston and New York City. By 2010, the firm was serving more than 150 markets.

A combination of the terms “group” and “coupon,” Groupon, Inc. is a deal-of-the-day website featuring discounted gift certificates that can be either used locally or nationally.

When visiting the website, users generally enter their local information and e-mail address. You can check your e-mail, Facebook or Twitter (News - Alert) accounts to see the daily deals that they’ve selected for you, and customize the type of deals that will be relevant to your shopping needs.



In Chicago this week, Groupon announced the financial results for its fourth quarter 2012. Read the results of the entire report and see all the numbers here. The company reported a revenue increase of $638.3 million – up 30 percent year-over-year from last year’s fourth quarter results, which came in at $492.2 million.

This excludes a $7.7-million unfavorable impact from changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the year.

The growth was driven by an increase in direct revenue, which, according to its fiscal year results, grew 1,549 percent to $225.2 million.

There was also an operating loss of $12.9 million, compared to an operation loss of $15 million in the fourth quarter 2011. Operating income was $98.7 million in 2012, including stock-based compensation and acquisition-related expenses of $105 million, and depreciation and remuneration of $55.8 million.

Full year 2012 net loss attributable to common stockholders was $67.4 million, or $0.10 per share.

The fourth quarter consolidated gross billings of $1.52 billion shows an increase of 24 percent year-over-year. This reflects the total dollar value of customer purchases of goods and services, excluding any applicable taxes or estimated refunds.

The fourth quarter generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) loss per share of $81.1 million, or $0.12. This includes a $0.07 loss per share from a non-operating item, and is compared with a loss per share of $0.12 in Q4 2011.

Full year 2012 gross billings grew 35 percent to $5.38 billion, revenue increased 45 percent to $2.33 billion, and operating income of $98.7 million compared to a loss of $233.4 million in 2011. Revenue increased 45 percent year-over-year to $2.33 billion in 2012, relative to $1.61 billion in 2011, and growth was driven by an increase in direct revenue, which rose 2,083 percent to $454.7 million in 2012, as opposed to $20.8 million in 2011.

Andrew Mason, CEO at Groupon said, "Record billings growth this quarter is a clear signal that customers love Groupons. We will continue to invest in growth through 2013 as we see new opportunities to give our customers what they want."

Groupon expects that revenue for the first quarter 2013 will be between $560 million and $610 million. They expect to see about a 9-percent increase from last year’s first quarter.

For the full year 2013, the firm expects to see an increase in operating income over 2012.




Edited by Braden Becker
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